create something that is closer to your dream world. and you're up to date now on d. w. news stay tuned for our film series that's up next after a short break omarion evans teen from me and the entire team here in berlin thanks for watching. language courses. video. any time any. w.

3 words time is trying to push on friday night unity justice and freedom. what are these words mean for democracy. his and his torch we have different histories. that's what makes this so diverse but we need a basic level of cohesion a country needs to stand together despite all its differences if you've heard. and i mean come on we can only reach consensus for the same goes for the bundestag as well. well we accept the fact that different people have different interests and

they have a right to pursue them. to believe. what are the things that unite us. and who are we. there are stuck in berlin the political centerpiece of our state dedicated to the german people it's symbolic of 2 states having come together but for citizens to come together and speak as one it takes political debate to mccarthy is an equal marker c. is a great idea and it's based on the notion that we might not all be the same but we are equal and we have the same rights as. it suggests that we've currently agree

upon how we want to live together without anyone being allowed to dominate or walk all over others. in under one domain young but to make that happen we need a sense of belonging like fans at a football match. in a speech just was a. little. odd but i felt. whether 954 or 2014 when it comes to football we are one people like a big family our sense of belonging comes naturally. i need ties or that unity also means people coming together in a cohesive society. and it means that everyone who comes here is a part of that society to so good that. in 1905 at the end of world war 2 everyone in germany had to pull together.

but then their solidarity was put to the test there were massive shortages of food and other essential supplies and hundreds of thousands of people start on arriving from eastern territories regions that had belonged to germany before it started the war. it was a mass exodus millions of refugees and displaced persons came from east and west pressure pomerania so lazy or was or didn't land and even as far as the regions of but not and transylvania. in some over 12000000 people looking for a new mom. couldn't possible i was born in breslau during the war but it was after the war ended we had

to leave. we didn't flee we were driven out of prison for that we were catholics and we ended up in the state of cheering and one year there everyone else was protestant we spoke a high german dialect i felt out of place in so many ways one could start my childhood and adolescence i always felt like an outsider like a minority the others were different and i didn't belong but if you have a niece who does america. german society was not prepared for so many new arrivals. in east germany people driven from their former homes soon made up more than 24 percent of the population in the west it was about 16 percent. the small village of 1st time in southwestern germany. in 10517 year old monica fetterman arrived here with her brother and parents after

a long and difficult journey from the east. the family had been forced to flee from so lazy. they assigned us to that apartment upstairs it had a kitchen in the bedrooms in the back there facing the street to slough them at but when they arrived what they experienced was far from any kind of culture of welcome . the woman who owned the house was adamant she did not want to take in a family that had children and she fought hard to keep them out. of the faulty that when the woman who lived there didn't want to have to put up the children she had no kids of her own and she didn't want any around. she started making a scene saying she wouldn't let us in that we'd have to stay outside. so we just stood there until the police arrived and forced her to take us in. and that set the stage for how we were treated afterwards to. overflows

time was no exception throughout the country millions of people needed to be resettled. mostly doesn't force them and you often have 3 families living in a 4 room apartment most conflicts originated in the kitchen where they argue over who was allowed to use it when and who could use which foods. there were often fuelled by religious differences and the prejudice that prevailed was perhaps even greater than you'll find today against muslims it's going but mostly more to. the former primary school in all but for those time has been turned into a museum. some of the children monica met here became her lifelong friends. despite the rough start. me guitar not near my 1st day at school was painful the teacher wasn't trying to be mean but she said now i'd like to introduce monica she's

a refugee girl and she's going to read her ass but i didn't know how to read. all i could do was start or was it the hobby so of course all the kids started laughing at me again about a mac. i thought thank goodness my teacher realized what was going on. now and she started giving me private reading lessons one and i tell myself that those kids will never laugh at me again. integration can only succeed step by step from one person to another and it often starts with the youngest in society. these girls never experienced any of the tensions that marked the early stages of german unity they grew up as part of a more solid community. millions of displaced people and left behind everything they had the government did its best to help them start over. moved in together and if a team of integrating all the displaced persons was

a great achievement for everyone involved. but it was not a simple as it seems in retrospect. today the entire effort is portrayed as a great success story and it is but it was also very difficult. to come from then germans unity was put to a new test after the war the allies agreed to divide germany into 4 occupation zones but as the occupying powers increasingly disagreed the cold war began. and left germany torn between east and west. in 1988 tensions escalated in an attempt to pressure the western allies the soviet union blocked off all access to west berlin in response several western countries led by the us started supplying the city by air this created a new sense of unity between west berliners and the united states the famous reason

bombers brought supplies to west berlin until the blockade ended in may 1949. then 2 german states emerged on may 23rd the federal republic was established but the comrade i don't know and it's chance for. you know on october the 7th the german democratic republic came into being with them beat cancer president. doesn't mind it but everyone is basically just meat men because. i did want to start and at 1st both states claim to speak for all of germany because east germany backed by stalin claimed to be the state that would unify the country. but the federal republic believed it had disappear a system of governance kit and doubleness oblique. today and the unification would have simply meant the nixing east germany i'm sure most.

in 161 just 12 years after the 2 german states were founded east germany sealed off the last open part of its mordor the wall deep into germany's divide german unity seemed further away than ever in fears of another war the world looked to berlin breathless as u.s. and soviet tanks faced each other along the city's border. and. west berlin's mayor billy brunt tried to ease tensions. and let me take. part i did not know. escaping from east germany had become a deadly endeavor. and and safety in 1961 after hundreds of thousands had fled east germany the government sealed its borders in an

act of self preservation. they imprisoned their own people because they had come to the very realistic conclusion that they couldn't make the rest stay otherwise the 1st. germany's division created an unusual situation in the 1964 summer olympics in tokyo. in an effort to signal peace and unity the international olympic committee had determined that an all german team was to compete neither state was happy with the ruling but they had no alternative and so a combined team of 370 athletes represented both east and west germany in tokyo. met team included the famous swimmers frank began from east germany and evolved on criminals from the federal republic all of germany was rooting for them. all that.

at the 1964 olympics both men competed for germany but although they were in the same team they weren't a team any personal contact between the east and west german athletes was discouraged. in tokyo all german athletes stayed in the same building in the olympic village but were kept in separate floors we swam in the same team so obviously we had to train together to practice the relay 100 offs. but our sports officials told us to keep contact to an absolute minimum. good day and goodbye there's nothing else for you to discuss they said this of course that was just ridiculous. as in. the evening we pass each other in the hotel

lobby and say let's meet in room 318 and everyone would show up there they even feel the battle but soviet champagne giving you shit registering your food. while the officials were trying in vain to keep the team apart from beyond 13 silver medals sports fans throughout germany were elated. but as of yesterday it's about. 4 years later at the 1968 summer olympics in mexico city we can't and kramer were back but on separate teams the olympic committee had recognized the separation of east and west germany but still obliged both states to enter under a single flag black red and gold plus the olympic rings. begun crema along with their teams who are now competing against each other.

in the finals of the men's 4 by 100 meter freestyle relay. at the bottom you can see from the guns is doing very well so far and then in 6 claim of west germany is looking strong as well. in mexico this is as in mexico city the 2 german teams were housed in separate buildings so it was difficult to keep up their old contacts. we had to be even more careful when we were dealing with the class enemies as our team officials constantly drilled into us. if that's any. they didn't refer to them as fellow athletes but as class enemies. yup that's again. why. we couldn't meet like we didn't tokyo. the only time that we saw each other was at

the pool. hall. yet despite district separation the german teams not only shared a common flag but also a common anthem the same theme that was 1st played for the west german team at the 1952 olympics be told when it's over to joy. i. didn't. use it when i hear that music i still get goosebumps it always takes me back to mexico city. in mexico. since the early 1950 years west germany had been enjoying an economic boom in 1955 to 1000000 folks bargain beatle rolled off the assembly line envoy at school does

it so that. it's hard to. see. that it's deceiver tough. as the economy continued to expand the industry needed more workers to keep up. it soon became clear that germany didn't have enough people to fill all the new jobs that were being created and that's when they started recruiting workers overseas wanting it and they have come on. it was a good deal for both sides germany got the laborers it needed mostly for unskilled positions and the foreign workers escaped unemployment at all. the guest workers arrived in west germany from all over southern europe from italy greece spain portugal and turkey. but in 1905 west germany it brought on a total of $1200000.00 additional workers. the 1000000

guest worker to arrive was our money order biggest aside from portugal he received a new moped to welcome him but that didn't mean he was accepted into west german society. to spout off his ear and it was a distinctly male migration most of the newly arrived workers were men who had left their families behind for a long time the idea was that they would work for a few years and then go back to work. the v.w. plant involved began employing italian guest workers in 19621 of them was sort of tottering who was 20 years old at the time but it took years for him to feel at home in west germany. that. rocco started out working on the assembly line. in peace were he and his west german coworkers turned out a huge number of beatles in the 1960 s.

. so i wonder if you're not seek out all 284 beatles came down the assembly line priest shift for. a lot of people work to put them together because that's. what's germany's economic miracle would not have been possible without these foreign workers an estimated 6000 to tell you ins worked at the boards would plant alone alongside their west german colleagues. but the italian workers were housed in a fenced off area outside the factory the german public was to know as little as possible about them they remained isolated from the rest of society and cut off from any sense of belonging you know i know one does and i had a bed and one of those barracks. there were 3 of them in the room. it is no one of them at 1st. so there were 4 of as we all had to get used to living together . on the weekends we were all there and that to share the 18 cooking plates with

about 100 other people. on deployed to. the foreign workers were not intended to become part of west german society later some of their family members started arriving adjusting to their new life was especially hard for the children. escape i was there were special schools for foreign children they weren't allowed into the regular classrooms he they called them cough econd suitcase kids and right from the beginning education officials decided they should have their own classes where they would keep learning their own language so their family could pack up and leave at any time i play he does take me in coffee direct good kind. during the 1970 s. the living conditions of the italian workers slowly improved. practised his german and was the 1st foreigner to be elected to be w.'s workers council to this day he

enjoys the respect of his former coworkers who tell you germans are like. him you know. at the same time brokaw matter german girl named hunter or. maybe young ones for the mess and break the spirit it was love at 1st sight. but when her father found out that she was seeing in it sally and guy hit the roof . all night and we should cock sure. he for better to go out. he grounded her to speak reached. her car laura's mother defended the relationship and in 1964 the couple finally married him. they moved into their very own apartment just like many other italians did at the time. it had been determined that they could stay they had become

a key part of the economy. but another group of foreign workers and their families faced more prejudice people from turkey most of them muslims. by the time the children arriving were allowed to apply for german citizenship they had already grown into adults and had kids of their own it was made especially hard for them to become part of german society and take on positions of leadership the problems this caused echo on to this day. the best actual news of who for decades the west german governments have been lying to itself and calling these people guest workers. secretly everyone knew that they were here to stay. but no one dared think that led and some didn't want them to stay so the government made no real effort to integrate these people they didn't encourage them to learn the language or demonstrate any cultural openness at the same time many of the workers didn't seem willing to integrate themselves into society either at least not those from

the 1st generation you know. east germany was also recruiting foreign workers here they were called contract workers and they came in from cuba mozambique and many from vietnam by $989.00 the total number of foreign workers stood at about 94000. vietnam was a socialist sister state whose economy had been ravaged by years of war. yet timmy's workers were employed in the east german industry for 2 to 6 years they too were discouraged from staying on any longer their families were not allowed to join them women became pregnant or sent home at once. and they did it up as there was a labor shortage it east germany started in the 1960 s. and it got worse in the seventy's and eighty's. and. that's because in the 1950 s.

hundreds of thousands of people that left the country of the sort of government brought in more workers from africa and vietnam of vietnam but they were kept separate from the local residents we didn't have much contact with them. contact between. along through to arrived from vietnam as a contract worker in 1976 today she runs her own restaurant in the town of very good order in central germany but it took a long time for her to feel that she had become part of the local community. even though she had loved these germany since she was a little girl. when i was 9 years old someone gave me a beautiful white flower dress that was made in germany i. call. that i just love that dress. and i thought that germany must be great because they had

such beautiful dresses there. newly arrived to be a timmy's workers 1st time to get used to a new shopping experience. for these into this exam grandma do finish have a certain you're going to see a cream pretty man. i think i was using these out in 5 babies secretly it's going to be it's a house and. later if they miss me out by snow by fractions in envision i was that's these essays. but if there's some good advent. when death is 3 days to go outside for. in vietnam i was hungry all the time but when i came to east germany i saw that they had all kinds of food i was especially fond of chicken legs. like this. one was 18

years old when she came to east germany she was assigned to a vocational training program at a truck factory and. she was a hard worker and studious later she became the only one in the graduating class who was allowed to continue on to university but when one finished her studies in 1981 the east german authorities decided it was time for her to go back to vietnam the man had to his voice that was kept me a little they were so worried that we were planning to stay after we received our diplomas. and so they would book flights for us back to vietnam and simply told us when they were scheduled. they took us to the airport and only game. yes our diplomas after we got into the departure area. and almost us local news really but the big. one was one of many we had to meet workers who were ordered to leave no matter where they want to deliver. this cup and i believe that there was

a strange contradiction between the government's official policy of supporting the international working class and their actual policy toward foreign workers. the authorities could have done and should have done a lot more to promote integration and a true sense of camaraderie instead foreigners were looked down on as competition that had come from abroad so and succumbs and. in $198071.00 returned to restring money she worked as a translator at a clothing factory and brand of your order but to the local residents she was still a foreigner. coming i remember one incident to this day. i was at a market and wanted to buy some bananas. when i tried to pay the clerks that i couldn't so i asked her why and she said they were reserved for east german citizens only. one as experienced similar indignities over the years but she

was determined to stay she took a big risk when opening a restaurant she won't let anything stop or. today one also supports immigrants as they adjust to their new lives in german society and is part of a network that promotes better understanding between germans and foreigners because it into tones of integration goes both ways the 1st foreigners who come to germany should be encouraged to feel at home here but. i'm sure that 2nd german citizens should not have to feel like phoners in their own country parts of the process are equally important and life is the. november 9th 1989 the end of the wall and the beginning of a new sense of unity after 40 years of separation germany could not have set

a course for political or unification. all along or marched asa is on or not they and checkpoint charlie everyone came together to celebrate that day the people of germany experienced a newfound sense of community. to many it felt like a miracle. no one knew how long this excitement would last and that didn't really even matter. how did the cyclists meet a fiery unification is one of the most amazing and joyous events in german history we're grateful it happened but in spite of all or a few zeroes and we must also remember that during reentry cation serious mistakes were made and many people were left behind the few dimension of a hockey can get us. and i perceived the monday demonstrations continued some

demanded immediate reunification. while others wanted east and west germany to remain separate. it was gup there was a growing disappointment over how many changes were taking place in the east but not in the west. west german families simply got a new postal code and that's it but for east germans the thing stayed the same and that is it at least it soon became clear in the east germany's economy was in bad shape and it would require fundamental structural reforms. like this you don't know what's going to happen next and that's frustrating is your job just going to disappear or not. the growing uncertainty did nothing to promote any sense of unity

. it's a busy man we were hoping for a bit more than this but we never would have expected that it would get this bad we have to pay 5 times more for goods from west germany with our income that's a bit much we're human beings too just like those in the west. in july germany's monetary union went into effect 3 months later on october the 3rd 1990 it was followed by the formal political reunification. germany was now one country again but the german people were still a long way from true unity and the politicians seem to sorely lack the necessary tact to bring east and west closer together with existed and wish they could have introduced some of the positive aspects of east german society into this new united country. have shown the people of east germany that at least part of the system had

had values even if they had lived in a dictatorship there were still parts of the society worth preserving for the entire country yes that would have boosted their confidence and that in itself would have been so important that western society would have seen their lives improving thanks city's positive aspects curried over from east germany but they were denied that experience. the consequences of currency conversion and privatisation in the eastern states were disastrous the economy in the east declined sharply from 190-2994. in 1906 more than 1300000 people were unemployed in the newly formed german states it was a major downside of the reunification process the consumer cooperatives were hit especially hard this is the cons are meant department store in leipsic known to the locals as the tin can it was a relic of east germany's past. shortly before the currency changeover the store

started selling more and more western products to meet a sharp increase in consumer demand no one wanted to buy east german goods anymore . this forced many former east german manufacturers to cut production or shut down altogether and the consumer cooperatives had to deal with increased competition something they weren't used to. feel and a lot of people thought their lives were stay about the same next that they'd have a new currency and be able to travel freely but they were wrong the mechanisms of the free market to cold because. martine bagnet took on the difficult challenge of downsizing the consumer cooperatives was a painful process in 1990 about 200 of them were grouped into one organization today there are only about 30 laughed to consume of the east german cooperatives had 230. 1000 employees but you're in 199-318-0000 of them lost their

jobs and. the main problem was that the cooperatives had been left out of the unification treaties they were considered a gray area that could stand in the way of reunification the cooperatives own their own buildings but the land the buildings were are now belong to the federal government if the cooperatives wanted to stay they would have to pay a huge sum to the government becomes a man was also affected but there was a loophole perignon fought long and hard lobbying politicians to reduce the bill. also. we finally caught their attention with a public campaign that we put together packages of goods from our member companies and sent a package to each member of the bundestag and burn it. we also gave interviews with public broadcasters. over time the pressure grew in the politicians to preserve more jobs so we ended up holding negotiations with the ministry of finance. and the

result of that was we were able to reduce the original demand of $336000000.00 marks to $12000000.00 touch marks. for your name. and so after 6 years of hard work back now was able to save a total of $4000.00 jobs at 30 companies and those companies were now in good financial shape nevertheless many in eastern germany still felt disadvantaged. had to actually send their truly is economic inequality in former east germany households in the west have more than twice as much wealth as those in the east and pension levels are not equal with us what's more 80 percent of the top executive positions in the east are held by westerners it was its own and if you ask me situations like this are a real threat to democracy before 50 democrats he is that they have. another serious threat to german democracy is xeno phobia in 1901 and hires about

a right wing extremists launched a series of attacks on immigrant workers and asylum seekers one year later a mob stormed refugee shelters in rostock at 1200 spectators gathered outside a shelter and applauded. a number of police officers who responded to these incidents were injured fortunately no one was killed. it's also funny peter she said history has shown is that those who are disadvantaged or who feel disadvantaged or marginalized usually do not channel their anger into efforts to try and make society better just. to fight mr instead they often take out their frustrations on those who are least able to defend themselves. like asylum seekers and other foreigners they turned them

into scapegoats as you develop with susan ma in late 9092 those opposed found their voice to respond as scorpions lead singer of cows minus said. this was something else the tight close listen we did was was even if i was to stop that. so i was unspoken for more civil courage to take action against racism and injustice. in. the frankfurt concert featured a well known german artists including lyndon bad and my us mother a vest on our wall came with the same message anyone who lives here should feel like they belong. here's demonstrations against you know for be it took place in major german cities protesters demonstrated solidarity with the victims of rightwing terror. in may 1

19934 skinhead set fire to the house of a turkish family insulting and in western germany 5 people were killed and 14 others including several children injured. it's missed that planet in. that attack wiped out an entire family in just one fire. and it did not take place in eastern germany. to say that such incidents only ever occur in the east means we're just fooling ourselves with our liberal society has a serious potential for racism and we need to call more attention to this problem some political parties are skillfully exploiting the situation yet. racism is you know phobia and anti semitism manifest themselves in attacks against muslims jews refugees politicians and the media many who no longer feel represented in the political spectrum turn to far right political movements enter picky eater

the patriotic europeans against the islam is ation of the occidental. done in this movement appeared almost overnight. and mobilized a lot of people who took to the streets. normally i'm all for movements that can move people like that. but then it became clear where this organization was headed and who was controlling it. when it is now clearly directed by right wing extremists radicals islamophobia homophobes nationalists earned racists and that's a serious cause for concern and says. this before. this tense situation was made even more complex in 2015 with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants many of them had fled conflicts in the middle east about 800000 sought protection in germany european countries in major urban

public squabbled over our best to distribute all the new arrivals how could so many people be integrated into german society. other than my when large numbers of people suddenly arrive in a given society it becomes a major challenge and a painful challenge when things change for the people who already live there mentioned that so called but you know for years and other forms of intolerance are not the only threats to german social unity we now have to deal with a number of new challenges in a globalised digitalized world people are once again struggling to find their place in society. many turn to social media to vent their worries. vulgar remarks on the so-called social platforms have become increasingly commonplace while the vast majority silently watches.

but not brutal yard she refuses to stay silent. then wonder when people lose their minds on line just because someone famous has expressed an opinion about something or maybe even just some ordinary person the whole thing makes me physically sick. i can't believe stuff like that can remain on. line. does so was the next i'm 15 come. later joined a group called h.p. and here i am here members try to take the edge off hate speech with fact based comments. this is and it comes only fairly well and what we do can get risky i've received notifications where people have threatened to rape me. and not only in the comment sections but also in direct messages message can be done all. still in britain to spend several hours every day trying to counter what she considers

inhuman remarks when news broke about refugees drowning in the mediterranean she came across one particularly cynical comment now where fish not only contains plastic but also human flesh but his response was clear and measured what a disgusting comments these are human beings we're talking about. the countryside and if you disagree with someone you can't just shout at them or insult them or verbal abuse them. i believe that we should be much more civil when we engage with one another that's very important to me. being here has grown to over 49000 members in 2017 the group was honored with the german government online award for its contribution to promoting constructive dialogue on the web. unity means people living together side by side without hatred or violence unity welcome social and ethnic diversity since 1949 it has been

a cornerstone of german life as it will remain for generations to come. from football fans born with. asterix the famous course is celebrating his 60th birthday. with a new adventure. for the ride as his buddy. and a feisty young woman band at trendy.

30 minute d.w. . i'm sure that of us as there are also some. in support. what's a big what's able. to bring about. a luxury car in the mirror humans are exploited and how much clearly small herd big brands have committed to fair working conditions and sustainable production but who is monitoring the subcontractors and investigative documentary goes to italy and china close behind the glamorous facades of fashion house and the jury behind

the murray starts nov 5th on d w. this is d.w. news live from berlin turkey is not convinced by a german plan for an international safe sound in northeastern syria german foreign minister heiko monsters in ankara for talks with this turkish counterpart says the proposal is not realistic mazas visit comes amid tensions over turkey's offensive against kurds in northern see.